Lubricants in commercial use today are prepared from a variety of natural and synthetic base stocks admixed with various additive packages and solvents depending upon their intended application. The base stocks typically include mineral oils, polyalphaolefins (PAO), gas-to-liquid base oils (GTL), silicone oils, phosphate esters, diesters, polyol esters, and the like.
A major trend for passenger car engine oils (PCEOs) is an overall improvement in quality as higher quality base stocks become more readily available. Typically the highest quality PCEO products are formulated with base stocks such as PAOs or GTL stocks.
The PAOs are synthesized by cationic oligomerization with the Lewis acid catalyst like BF3/R—OH using 1-decene as feedstock followed by hydrogenation of the obtained oligomers. However, the products obtained in this process contain besides C30 oligomers significant amounts of dimers, tetramers, pentamers. The C20 dimer products add significant volatility because of their lower vapor pressure. The higher oligomers increase the pour points of the materials.
Attempts in making low viscosity PAOs by metallocene catalysts identified lead catalysts that produce mixtures of PAO dimer, trimer, tetramer and higher oligomers. The trimer needs to be isolated from the dimer and higher viscosity fluids to achieve desired viscosity and Noack volatility.
There is a need for new base stock with low viscosity, low Noack volatility and superior low temperature properties.
The present disclosure also provides many additional advantages, which shall become apparent as described below.